Cloth-feeding device for textile machinery.



Y .C. HLELL IOTT. CLOTH FEEDING DEVICE FOR TEXTILE MACHIVNERIY. I

I APPLICATION FILED SEPT.2!, 1915; v

1,170,228. S Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

. 1 Z-SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES Hazel t 'A'ITORNEY v THE goLpmniA PLANOORAPH c0.. WASHINGTONLD. cl

v c. H. ELLIOTT. I CLOTH FEEDING DEVICE FOR TEXTILE'MACHINERYL APPLICATION FILD SEPT JZI, 1915. I

2 SHEETSSHEET'2- INVENTOR -Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

WITNESSES I V f. ATroRNEY THE COLUMBIA PLAgOGRApl-l co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

as TT FTQQ CHARLES 11.; EL IOT F PHILADELPHI PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR To H. vv.v BUTTERWOBTH; 86 sous contrary, A CORPORATIQN or PENNSYLVANIA.

CLOTH-FEEDING DEVICE F012,, TEXTILE ACHINERY,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES ELLIOTT,

a citizen ofthe United States, and resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Cloth-Feeding Devices for Textile Machinery, of which the follow' ing is'a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a satisfactory cloth guiding and feeding device for feeding the cloth into and out of a conditioning or other chamber in which the cloth is sub ected to treatment by heat mg, steaming, or otherwlse, and from which chamber the outside atmosphere mustbe ex-' cluded as far as possible while permitting the ready entrance and withdrawal of the fabric.

Vhile my invention is'especially intended for what are technically known as .condition'ing machines in which the fabric is subjected to the action of steam heat at definite maintained pressure, nevertheless, I do not restrict myself to such use as the apparatus is suitable for any machine-in which material in sheet form is to be guided into and out of a closed chamber, whlle excluding, as far as possible, circulation of atmospheric air. In machines of this class, the fabric is guided back and forth over numerous rollers within the chamber, and it is a tedious and time consuming operation to thread up such machines with fabric;

and to avoid this labor, a machine once threaded is maintained in such condltlon. by stitching or otherwise attaching to the.

end of one Web the beginning of the next web to be treated. The places of this union produce two-ply or three-ply thicknesses- (according to the form of the union) whichv must be guided momentarily through thefeeding opening, While at all other times the fabric is but singleply and hence the size of the feeding opening must not only have capacity for adjustment but the adjustmentmust take place automatically. [Furthermore, with fabrics of different thicknesses, the size of the opening should vary and'hence after passing a thin fabric through the machine it should automatically adjust and;

adapt itself to the thicker fabric which may follow.

My improved apparatus provides for the above specified requirements and hence is automatic in its adjustments; and is, more- Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

Application filed September 21,1915. $eria1 No. 51,748.

over, so constructed that the guiding portions or rolls are steam heated, as well i as the feed box, that the fabric may be heated as it entersand any small air leakage into the machine with the fabric likewise heated to a degree that its objectionable effects would not extend beyond the feed box itself.

lVith the above stated objects and other advantages of less nature referred to hereinafter, as the foundation for my improvements, my invention consists of certain constructions for guiding and feeding webs'of material into and out of suitable closed chambers, all of which'are fully described hereinafter and more specifically defined in the claims. Referring, to thedra-wings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one'end of a textile c0n-.. ditioning machine showing my improvements applied thereto (but having a portionof the exhaust or return piping removed) Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same with all of the piping in position; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of my improved guiding and feeding apparatus upon a larger scale; Fig.4 is a sectional view through the feed box and:

guides, on the same scale as in Fig. 3; and

both, asthe requirements may dictate, and

I do not restrict myselfas to any ofthese features. Sometimes, the fabric is led into the chamber at one end and passes out of it at the other end, thus requiring two apertures and in other cases, the fabric enters and, leaves the chambe -a h S m in h h operation the same guiding and feeding means may be employed for the web both; on entering and leaving, and myinvention includes apparatus of this capacity.

3is the feed boX and comprises a passage l for the fabric havingIsteam chambered walls 5, into which steam is supplied from, a steam main 1'6 and from which the water of condensation and waste may pass to the exhaust or return main 17, the water draining off by the drain pipe 17. The passage l opens at its inner end into the chamber 2 and at its outer end into the atmosphere, but has the outer end opening considerably contracted by parallel guides 6, 6. These guides are preferably formed of brass tubes with smooth outer surfaces and closely fitting through the side walls of the feed box and the top and bottom of the throat or opening to the passage (Fig. 4). In this way the opening into the chamber is much narrower than the passage 4, and is substantially sealed by the tubular guide 7, which is also preferably made of brass tubing with a polished outer surface. The diameter of the guide 7 is preferably larger than the guides 6, 6, but I do not restrict myself in this respect. All of these guides 6 and 7 are steam heated, the steam circulating through their tubular interiors. The tubular guide 7 is sometimes termed a guide roll, but while it may be adapted to rotate in its supports, this is not necessary owing to the smoothness of its outer surface over which the cloth travels. The tubular guide 7 iscylindrical and of roller form,

also for capacity to adjust different portions of its circumference into guiding position, so that in this capacity it acts as a journaled roller held in different circumferential positions to compensate for wear. In view of the fact that steam is required to circulate through guide 7, it is preferable that it be normally held against free rotation. The ends of the guide 7 are made flat and snugly fit between the end walls of the opening 4 of the feed box, and when said guide rests against the guides 6, 6, the entrance is practically air-tight, at least suflieiently so to prevent objectionable air circulation.

The guide 7 is carried on the lower ends of two swinging arms 8 secured at the top to a hinge rod 9, said rod journaled in the ends of brackets 12 extending from the end of the chamber 2. These brackets 12 are preferably made adjustable, comprising fixed parts 13 and adjustable end parts 14 extensible thereon and clamped in adjusted position by clamping bolts 15. In this way the guide 7 may be accurately alined with the guides 6, 6. The arms 8 are provided with horizontally extending arms 10 upon which are adjustably secured counterweights 11, by which the desired pressure of the guide 7 toward the guides 6, 6, may be assured. This capacity for yieldingly holding the guide 7 toward the guides 6, 6, is important, as it counteracts the tendency of the traveling cloth to abnormally force the guide 7 away from the guides 6, 6, not only during normal feeding, but also when a seam between two webs is passing, either into or out of the chamber. In place of the counter-weights 11, any other equivalent manner of applying yielding pressure to the arms 8 and guide 7 may be employed.

Steam is supplied to the fixed guides 6, 6, by pipes 21 leading from the steam supply pipe or main 16, and the water of condensation from said guides may pass by pipes 22 into the return main 17 (Fig. 2). The guides 6, 6, are preferably adjustable circumferentially so that when worn, new portions may be brought into guiding position, and thus maintain the accuracy of construction as well as to prevent leakage of steam and damage to the fabric.

Steam is supplied to the guide 7 in any suitable manner, but as shown, I prefer to deliver steam from the supply pipe 16 by a branch pipe 19 and a swinging pipe connection 18 opening at its lower end into the guide 7 and at its upper end having a swiveling connection with the pipe 19, said con nection being axially in line with the hinge rod 9, so that not only do the arms 8 swing about the axis of rod 9, but the pipe 18 likewise swings about an axis co-incident with the axis of said rod. In this way the free movement of the tubular guide 7 is not impaired by the steam pipe connections 18, 19. Any other suitable flexible steam connection for supplying steam to the guide 7 may be employed in lieu of that shown. To enable the water of condensation and liberated air to escape from the guide 7, its opposite end 1s connected with a flexible tube or hose 2() leading down and discharging into the re-.

20, also enables the guide 7 to move freely.

while maintaining the steam supply and proper drainage. It will be manifest that, if desired, a steam supply flexible connection similar to pipe 20 may be also used on the supply end of guide 7 in lieu of the pipes 18 and 19.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the fabric web passes upward from under a guide roller and over the lower guide 6, thence into the chamber 2 and after treatment, passes out through passage 4 under upper guide 6 to the cloth folder or other apparatus. It will also be seen that the guide 7 rests against the opposing surfaces of the in-going and outgoing portions of the web, and hence efiieo tually seals the space between the guides and webs against the entrance of air, but at all times is self-adjusting to suit the passage of the seam between two webs (before referred to), both into and out of the chamber. It will further be seen that this construction provides over the entrance into the passage 4: of the feed box, steam heated barriers against entrance of outside air, said barriers found in the guides 6, 6, and 7.

I so

amazes cases where the width of the web entering the'chamber is not of the full width of the passage 4 of the feed box and of the guides 6, 6, and 7, this maybe compensated for by temporarily pasting small sections of the fabric about the end portions of the guide 7 thereby thickening its end portions to close the slits which otherwise may be formed, this beingmerely a shop expedient to meet a possible condition. In some cases the small leakage thus made possible may be no objection and the sealing of it may be omitted.

In the construction above described, it will be noted that thefabric passes in and out of the same opening and in contact with the same guide 7, but it is to be understood that this is not essential as the apparatus shown may be used for guiding the fabric in one direction only, there being a separate means for the entering and the leaving web portions.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the same guides 6, 6, and 7 are employed, but in this case the guide 7 is hung by arms 8 to swing about the axis 9 of the upper guide 6 and make a yielding contact with the lower guide 6 or the fabric passing over it. In this case, the arms 8 have lateral arms 10 carrying counterweights 11 to hold the guide 7 yieldingly pressedtoward the lower guide 6 and upon the fabric passing thereover. It will be seen that as the-guides 6 are cylindrical where they contactwith the guide 7, the latter may have considerable adjustment without opening any passagebetween it and the upper guide 6. This construction is essentially for feeding and guiding the fabric in one way only.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of ac vantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details,as the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departingifrom the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising a fixed tubular guide over which the web is guided, a. movable tubular guide movable to and from the fixed guide, means for normally pressing the movable guide toward the fixed guide and upon the web passing thereover with a yielding pressure, and means for supplying a heating fluid to the tubular guides.

2. In apparatus-ofthe character stated; a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, com-- bined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising a fixed tubular guideover which the web is guided, a movable tubular guide movable to and from the fixed guide, means'for normally pressing'the movable guide toward the fixed guide and upon the web passing thereover with ayielding pressure, said guides adjustable circumferentially to enable different portions of their surfaces to be brought into opposed positions to compensate-for wear, and means for supplying a heating'yfiuid to the tubular guides. Y

3. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passedhaving an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guidingv means for said passage comprising a fixed tubular guide over whichthe web is guided, a movabletubular guide movable to and from the fixed guide, means for normally pressing the movable guide toward the fixed guide and upon the web passing thereover with a yielding pressure consisting of swinging pivoted arms carrying the tubular guide at their free ends and having counterweighted means for swinging them towardthe fixed guide, and adjustable means for supplying a heating fluid to the tubular guides for all positions of their relative adjustment.

4. In apparatus of the character stated, a

. chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising a fixed tubular guidev over which the web is guided, a movable tubular guide movable to and from the fixed guide, means for normally pressing the movable guide toward the fixed guide and upon the web passing thereover with a yield? ing pressure consisting of'swinging pivoted arms carrying the tubular guide at their free ends and having counterweighted means for swinging them toward the fixed guide and adjustable brackets to which the swinging arms arepivoted and. by which the movable guide may be adjusted parallel to .the fixed guide, and adjustable means for supplying; a heating fluid to the tubular guides for all positions of their relative adjustment.

5. In apparatusof the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed. having an entrance passage for-the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two fixed; guides closelly fitting the walls of theentranee passage and separated a- Short distance apart" to provide a passage for the web over one guide in entering and over the other guide in leaving the chamber, a movable guide in alinement with thepassage between the fixed guides and adapted to make a close fiti with 1 both guides, and means for moving the movable guide toward the fixed guides and be tween the web portions guided thereby with a yielding pressure. v

6. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined'with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two fixed guides closely fitting the walls of the entrance passage and separated a short distance apart to provide a passage for the web over one guide in entering and over the other guide in leaving the chamber, a movable guide in alinement with the passage between the fixed guides and adapted to make a close fit with both guides, means for moving the movable guide toward the fixed guides and between the web portions guided thereby with a yielding pressure, and means to adjust the extent of the yielding pressure.

7. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two fixed guides closely fitting the walls of the entrance passage and separated a short distance apart to provide a passage for the web over one guide in entering and over the other guide in leaving the chamber, a movable guide in alinement with the passage between the fixed guides and adapted to make a close fit with both guides, means for moving the movable guide toward the fixed guides and between the web portions guided thereby with a yielding pressure, and means to maintain the'guides in a heated condition.

8. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two cylindrical tubular normally fixed guides arranged parallel at a short distance apart and respectively making a close fit with the top and bottom walls of the entrance passage, a movable cylindrical tubular guide of greater diameter than the space between the fixed guides and adapted to rest upon the web part or parts passing between said fixed guides, and pivoted means for supporting the movable guide and pressing it toward the fixed guides with a yielding pressure.

9. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two cylindrical tubular normally fixed guides arranged parallel at a short distance apart and respectively making a close fit with the top and bottom walls of the entrance passage, a movable cylindrical tubular guide of greater diameter than the space between the fixed guides and adapted to rest upon the web part or parts passing between said fixed guides, pivoted means for supporting the movable guide and pressing it toward the fixed guides with a yielding pressure, and means for supplying steam to the several guides and draining the water of condensation therefrom.

10. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two cylindrical tubular normally fixed guides arranged parallel at a short distance apart and respectively making a close fit with the top and bottom walls of the entrance passage, a movable cylindrical tubular guide of greater diameter than the space between the fixed guides and adapted to rest upon the web part or parts passing between said fixed guides, said cylindrical guides being circumferentially adjustable to permit different portions of their surfaces to be brought into opposed relation to compensate for wear, pivoted means for supporting the movable guide and pressing it toward the fixed guides with a yielding pressure, and adjustable means for supplying steam to the several guides and draining the water of condensation therefrom said means including adjustable steam and drainage connections with the movable guide.

11. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two tubular fixed portions arranged at a distance apart to form a. passage through which the web is guided, a movable tubular guide of larger diameter than the width of the passage between the fixed portions and adapted to make a close joint therewith and rest upon the web, yielding pressure applying means for yieldingly pressing the movable guide upon the web passing between the fixed portions, and means for supplying a heating medium to said fixed portions and movable guide.

12. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two tubular fixed portions arranged at adistance apart to form a passage through which the web is guided, a movable tubular guide of larger diameter than the width of the passage between the fixed portions and adapted to make a close joint therewith and rest upon the web, yielding pressure applying means for yieldingly pressing the movable guide upon the web passing between the fixed portions, means for adjusting the extent of the yielding pressure, and means for supplying a heating medium to said fixed portions and movable guide.

13. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two fixed portions between which the web is guided, a tubular movable guide of larger diameter than the space between the fixed portions, means for yieldingly pressing the movable guide upon the web passing between the fixed portions, means for supplying steam to the movable guide, and a flexible drainage hose connecting with the movable guide for conveying off the water of condensation.

14. In apparatus of the character stated, a chamber through which a web is passed having an entrance passage for the web, combined with feeding and guiding means for said passage comprising two fixed portions between which the web is guided, a tubular movable guide of larger diameter than the spacebetween the fixed portions, means for yieldingly pressing the movable guide upon the web passing between the fixed portions, said means'including hinged arms carrying the movable guide at their free ends whereby it is maintained parallel to the fixed portions, and means for supplying steam to the movable guide.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES H. ELLIOTT. Witnesses:

WALTER HENSEL, WILLIAM H. LOWNSBURY, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. 0. 

